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to Equalize Age of Consent Britain to Force Caribbean Territories to Legalize Gay Sex 30th Anniversary Plaque Marks First U.K. Gay Protest |
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By Rex Wockner International News Report House of Lords Again Refuses to Equalize Age of Consent
The act was created to guarantee that the will of elected lawmakers (members of the House of Commons) prevails over the wishes of appointed lawmakers (members of the House of Lords). Britain to Force Caribbean Territories to Legalize Gay Sex Britain will force its Caribbean Overseas Territories to legalize gay sex before Christmas. Nearly two years ago, the Foreign Office told Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands to repeal their sodomy laws so that the United Kingdom will not be in violation of European human-rights laws. None of the islands did so and the repeals now will be imposed from London, officials said last week. Homosexuality is punished with life imprisonment on the Turks and Caicos Islands. 30th Anniversary Plaque Marks First U.K. Gay Protest
The solid bronze, triangular plaque reads: "The first gay rights demonstration in Britain took place here, in Highbury Fields, on 27th November 1970, when 150 members of the Gay Liberation Front held a torchlight rally against police harassment." "The GLF protest in November 1970 was a milestone in gay history", said OutRage!'s Peter Tatchell. "Before this protest, the police harassed the gay community with impunity. The 27November 1970 was the moment that lesbians and gay men got up off their knees. It ended forever the era of queers as passive victims of injustice. From that date onwards, the fear that had cowed gay people into submission was gone. Instead of fear, we felt pride and defiance." |
Members of OutRage! London protest the UK's discrimination in age of consent laws 